Who Am I?

 

 "Who Am I?" Jean Valjean in Les Miserables asks as he agonizes over his life when all his values and work are put into question. His answer, right before he commits suicide, is "I'm Jean Valjean."

I missed out on the almost obligatory identity crisis in my late teens and early twenties. Yesterday, I started thinking about all the things I've been over my life to other people.

Family members. In each role, I play a very different part in their lives:

• Daughter
• Granddaughter
• Sister
• Sister-in-law
• Cousin 
• Wife
• Ex-wife
• Mother
• Aunt 
• Niece

Professionally I've been a

• Journalist
• File Clerk
• Payroll clerk -- that did not work out well
• Secretary
  
• Dry cleaner presser
• PR Director
• Marketing Director
• Saleswoman
• Publisher
• Writer 
• Student Merrimack College Lowell, Tufts, Glamorgan Wales, University of Geneva
  
• Graduate Lowell University and Glamoran University Wales
  

My social relationships on many levels have varied. This struck me recently when a college friend pointed out that I had been one of her longest friends. I define social relationships as people I interrelate with.

• Friend
• Co-worker
• Roommate
• Club member
• Neighbor
• Tenant
• Board member
• Dog owner
• Landlord
• Client
• Patient 
• Boss
• Employee
  

I'm probably one of the least sporty people there is,  but I've a relationship with some sports and have indulged in or been forced to play. In school I hated recess when we had to play sports be it field hockey, dodge ball, volley ball, etc.

• Golf--forced as a child, but I speak golf with my husband -
• Badminton played with my brother
• Croquet played in my childhood backyard.
• Tennis  (Federer) Fan
• Celtics Fan
• Patriots Fan
• Ice skater
• Ping pong
• Running 
• Walking
  

Totally uninterested in baseball or hockey even when there have been major championships. Will watch European football in finals every four years if my national team is playing.

Citizen - I have a responsibility to be a good citizen. That includes

• Voting
• Being aware of issues
• Demonstrating for causes
• Contacting those who can make changes
• Writing for causes

Where I've lived for a few weeks to a few decades. I define living as being in an apartment and/or house and living a normal daily life which may or may not include going to work each day.

• Massachusetts - Reading, Lowell, Waltham, Boston
• Washington, D.C.
• Stuttgart Germany
• Exeter New Hampshire
  
• Westport Ireland
• Edinburgh Scotland
• France - Castanet, Argelès-sur-mer
• Switzerland - Motiers, Payern, Geneva, Corsier, Collonge-Bellerive, Vandoeouvers (as of March 1) 

Things that I do but don't fit in any category

• Read some 30,000 pages each year
• Knit in spurts over my life
• Cook more in the past than now. It once was a passion. Now it's a chore
• Research into history, politics or a topic that catches my interest.
  

Go to - theater, movies, museums, explore wherever I am such as Syria, different places in the U.S. and Europe

• Places anywhere locally or far away
  
• Explore everything from a courtyard, woods, city, town. Whatever my eyes discover.

Things/People I'm passionate about in different levels but not in any order

• My husband
• My daughter
• Chocolate
• Lobster
• Colors
• Flowers
• Reading
• Writing
• History
• Snow
• Friends 
  
• Ordinary things that have transferred to something beautiful
• Music 
• Sherlock my dog.
  

What do I value?

• Honesty
• Kindness
• Beauty both visual and verbal

 Looking at the list it could make me tired, but inside I am the same person, although others might see me differently in whatever roles they assign to me, or whatever part of my personality they relate to. A boss is different from a friend although some could be both, for example.

Who am I? I'm Donna-Lane. I'm me.